Feed aggregator

NPR asks Sen. Jack Reed, top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, why he wants an investigation into whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared classified intelligence in a Signal chat.

(Image credit: Tom Williams-Pool)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared sensitive military information last month in two Signal group chats. Now, a U.S. official tells NPR a search is underway to replace Hegseth.

The New York Times reported that he shared information last month to a second private Signal group chat about upcoming strikes in Yemen.'/>

The White House is searching for a new defense secretary to replace Pete Hegseth after a second Signal group chat controversy. And, Pope Francis' legacy is remembered worldwide.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla)

This review first appeared in issue 345 of PC Pro.

There are dozens of 15.6in portable monitors available on Amazon, many costing around £100, so you may wonder why anyone would consider paying over four times that price for the ViewSonic VP16-OLED. The first clue is in the name: including an OLED panel rather than IPS immediately puts this display on a different pedestal.

But the real reason is quality. Cheap portable monitors usually reward you with poor color coverage, low brightness and lackluster color accuracy. What ViewSonic promises is much more in line with a professional monitor. With Pantone validation and a guaranteed average Delta E of less than two, you can be confident of the colors you see. This was borne out in the tests for our review unit, with typical averages of around 0.5.

I say “typical” because this monitor ships with numerous color modes: user, DCI-P3, sRGB, REC.709 and DICOM. DICOM is a medical standard, while REC.709 is used in broadcasting and similar to sRGB. That means it’s conservative in terms of coverage, so for the punchiest colors you should choose DCI-P3.

Inputs include two USB-C ports and micro-HDMI (Image credit: Future)

When testing such profiles, we’re always looking for it to clamp down on the gamut as much as possible. That’s why it was comforting to see sRGB lock the panel to 96.4% coverage out of a 98.6% volume. So, only a tiny fraction of the colors you see on the VP16-OLED will sit outside the sRGB gamut when you’re in that mode.

Likewise in DCI-P3, where the monitor produced results of 95.4% and 96.9%.

It’s also easy to switch between profiles. ViewSonic places four buttons on the monitor’s base, and the text-based OSD is so simple to navigate that I was left wondering why all monitors don’t follow its lead.

Height adjustment in pictures. STEP 1 Here’s the ViewSonic in its most basic position (Image credit: Future)

The panel’s only minor negative is that it isn’t a true 10-bit display but 8-bit plus FRC. FRC stands for frame rate control, and mimics colors not supported by the 8-bit panel by flashing alternate colors incredibly quickly. It’s effective, but purists prefer 10-bit panels.

ViewSonic has gained DisplayHDR 400 certification for this screen, but don’t expect images to burn your retina. Still, OLED is naturally easier to view in brighter conditions than IPS thanks to its “infinite” contrast ratio, so although the VP16-OLED peaked at 402cd/m2 in our tests I can’t imagine any situation where you won’t be able to see its contents.

There’s even a hood in the box. This is normally included with professional monitors to stop ambient light interfering with colors, but here it’s most useful to keep the screen’s light from interfering with your darker shoots. I was also hoping it would offer protection during travel, but the folding mechanism isn’t quite clever enough to perfectly wrap around the screen.

STEP 2 Then, with a swivel of the stand, it’s raised a few inches (Image credit: Future)

Otherwise, I can’t fault ViewSonic’s design. One of the cleverest elements is the adjustable height stand. The photos below tell most of the story; all I need to add is that it moves smoothly through every stage and locks perfectly into position.

The VP16-OLED doesn’t include a battery, but it can draw power from a host laptop over USB-C or work the other way round: plug in the supplied USB-C power supply and then power your laptop. However, it only delivers 40W, so it’s better suited to keeping a laptop topped up than charging it from empty. There’s also a micro-HDMI input.

STEP 3 And finally it’s at its peak height, elevated by around 100mm (Image credit: Future)

ViewSonic includes a pair of 1W speakers, and as that power rating indicates they aren’t going to fill a room. Sound quality is mediocre – no depth, weak bass – but if you’re on a video shoot and want to check the audio they’ll be up to the job, or you can resort to the 3.5mm jack.

There’s one final downside to this monitor, and that’s its 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. Again, hunt online and you’ll find 4K portable monitors for half the price. Personally, I didn’t find this a problem in practice as text, photos and videos still look sharp at normal viewing distances.

For its target audience, then, this OLED monitor is worth every penny. It’s accurate, flexible and images pack a punch you won’t see from IPS rivals.

We also ranked the best powerful laptops.

This review first appeared in issue 345 of PC Pro.

TP-Link’s EAP655-Wall is designed to offer discrete Wi-Fi 6 services to a wide range of environments, such as meeting rooms, apartments and home offices. This affordable palm-sized package will also appeal to hotels looking to provide in-room network services as it has three gigabit ports in its base and can deliver PoE on the third one – ideal for adding extra room devices such as IP phones.

The EAP655-Wall offers plenty of features for the price. This AX3000 dual-band access point (AP) delivers speeds of up to 2,402Mbits/sec on its 5GHz radio and 574Mbits/sec on the 2.4GHz radio. It also supports the high-speed Wi-Fi 6 160MHz channels, although the AP’s main uplink port is only the gigabit variety so you won’t see their full potential.

Even so, the EAP655-Wall delivered good overall results in our real-world performance tests. We started with its 80MHz channels enabled. Closerange copies of a large file between a Dell Windows 11 Pro workstation equipped with a TP-Link Archer TXE75E Wi-Fi 6E PCI-E card and a server on our 10GbE LAN averaged 94MB/sec, dropping to 77MB/sec with the AP moved ten meters away and into an adjoining room.

With the AP’s 160MHz channels activated, the workstation reported a 2.4Gbits/sec wireless connection. Unsurprisingly, our file copies maxed out the AP’s gigabit port and only increased to 111MB/sec at close range and 91MB/sec at ten meters, although these speeds will easily be good enough for all but the most demanding of users.

The EAP655-Wall offers lots of features for the price (Image credit: Future)

The AP can be managed in standalone mode, but most businesses will prefer TP-Link’s Omada cloud service as they can manage all their APs from one central web portal. Previously, each site required a hardware or software controller installed locally, but TP-Link now also offers cloud-based controllers with yearly prices starting at £12 per device.

From our main Omada cloud portal account, we viewed all our hardware, software and cloud-based controllers, and selecting the latter took us to its dedicated management console. Before adding the AP to our site, we made sure we’d enabled the cloud-based controller management option from its local web console. We could then import the AP by entering its serial number, naming it and assigning a license. After adoption, access to its local console was disabled and it started broadcasting our site-managed SSIDs.

The site portal presents a detailed dashboard that can be customized with widgets; we added ones to show details such as AP traffic and client distributions, the most active APs, a Wi-Fi summary and 24-hour graphs of client associations and overall wireless traffic. The AP was connected to the lab’s TP-Link TL-SG3210XHP-M2 PoE+ multi-gigabit switch, and we added more widgets to show its active ports, PoE usage and the available power budget.

The AP can be remotely managed from TP-Link’s Omada platform (Image credit: Future)

Wireless features are extensive, with up to eight SSIDs per radio supported and options to apply mixed WPA2/WPA3 encryption. You can set global or per client and SSID upload and download rate limits, and use guest networks to block users from private networks. Captive portal features are equally good, with profiles used to apply a global password, local user, voucher, Radius or Facebook authentication and add logos, greeting messages and acceptable use policies.

The three gigabit pass-through ports are enabled by default, and PoE services on the third port can be activated by checking this option in the portal’s AP configuration page, although make sure the main LAN port is connected to a PoE+ source. During testing, they worked fine and after connecting a Yealink IP phone to the third port, it duly received power and internet access.

It would have been good to see a 2.5GbE port, but the EAP655-Wall remains a reasonably fast Wi-Fi 6 AP with a good range. It offers a wealth of wireless features for a modest price, cloud management is excellent and its three gigabit downlink ports with extra power delivery make it even more versatile.

We've also ranked the best Wi-Fi extenders.

This review first appeared in issue 345 of PC Pro.

Although one of Qnap’s home devices, the Qnap TS-262 is surprisingly well specified for a two-bay device. It has just the one Ethernet port, so no redundancy, but as it’s a 2.5GbE port rather than gigabit you avoid one potential bottleneck. Given that this standard is becoming more and more popular on consumer switches and routers, it’s nice to see this fast connection.

If you do need more speed, there’s a 10GbE port upgrade available via the PCI-E slot, which is accessible when the case is unscrewed. That’s the only time you’ll need a screwdriver, as everything else is accessible via screw-free entry.

For example, pop out both of the hard disk caddies and you’ll see that dual M.2 2280 NVMe PCI-E Gen3 slots are available. These use a simple clip to hold the SSDs in place, so are easy to deal with. Hard disks simply slide into the slot.

As with all Qnap NAS devices, the TS-262 runs its QTS operating system so is compatible with the full range of services that this provides, including the ability to create your own personal storage cloud. There’s an Intel Celeron N4505 processor and 4GB of RAM (non-upgradable), which should prove enough for even heavy use.

There are some extra features you don’t often find on rival NAS devices, including an HDMI 2.0 output. When paired with the compatible remote control, this NAS can be turned into a media streamer, playing video directly from its hard disk. If you have a large collection of films, this might be your best option, but a sleeker option is to install a media server and stream directly from the NAS.

Running over a standard gigabit Ethernet connection, the Qnap TS-262 fell behind the Synology DS723+, when we benchmarked using 22TB hard disks and dual 1TB NVMe drives. However, upgrade that connection to 2.5GbE and things get better, particularly with larger file sizes: running the ATTO benchmark with 2MB files, the TS-262 jumped from 100MB/sec read speeds to 210MB/sec.

There was little difference in the PCMark 10 Storage test, which uses different file transfers and is less dependent on connection speeds.

Synology’s systems are arguably easier to use, but if you want more straightforward file and media sharing, locally and via the cloud, then this NAS is excellent value and fast, particularly when its 2.5GbE port is used.

We've also rated the best Wi-Fi routers.

• iOS 18.5 beta 3 has just been released to developers
• The small update most likely focuses on bug fixes
• All the big changes look to be coming in iOS 19 later in the summer

Apple has just released the third developer beta of iOS 18.5, and it comes with a few tweaks that could improve the Mail and Settings apps for you. But it’s a very lightweight update overall, and if you were expecting huge alterations, you might be left disappointed.

The first change can be found in the Settings app. There, the iOS 18.5 beta has added a more prominent AppleCare+ banner to the top of the page devoted to Apple’s warranty service. You can also find more information on AppleCare+ for each product registered in the Apple Account section of the Settings app, making Apple’s service easier to find.

The other new item to be found in the iOS 18.5 beta relates to the Mail app. In this instance, Apple has added a control to disable contact photos in your email inbox. This can be found by tapping the three-dot button in Mail’s top-right corner, then selecting the option to Show Contact Photos.

Previously, you had to dig around in Mail’s settings to find this control.

A minor update

(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

It’s worth noting that these changes have been present in earlier iOS 18.5 betas, as we described earlier in April. Without any other prominent features being added to the latest iOS 18.5 beta 3 release, this suggests that the latest update might instead focus on behind-the-scenes bug fixes and performance improvements.

We don’t know when exactly iOS 18.5 will launch out of beta, but we do know that iOS 18.4.1 is available to the general public.

This update focuses on bug fixes, with solutions for a range of problems coming as part of the release. That includes a fix for a CarPlay bug that rendered many people’s in-car entertainment inoperable or difficult to use.

Looking further ahead, Apple is set to announce iOS 19 at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 9. That update is rumored to come with a wide-ranging design overhaul and a slate of interesting new features, which are likely taking up a lot of development time at Apple.

If that’s the case, the lack of major updates in iOS 18.5 makes a lot more sense, and could be a sign that more substanbtial updates are on the way.

You might also like

• Apple's first iOS 18.5 beta makes it easier to get the old-style Apple Mail back
• Finding iOS 18.4 a bit buggy? An update is rolling out soon to fix it ahead of iOS 18.5
• I really wanted these viral pop star emojis to arrive with iOS 18.5, but it was never going to happen – here’s why

• Windows 11 has a new preview build in the Beta channel
• It offers new Click to Do features for Copilot+ PCs, including Reading Coach integration
• Search has also been pepped up with AI, and Voice Access has got a handy new addition too

Windows 11’s latest preview version just arrived packing improved search functionality and some impressive new capabilities for accessibility, including the integration of Microsoft’s ‘Reading Coach’ app on certain PCs.

This is preview build 26120.3872 in the Beta channel, and some of the fresh additions are just for Copilot+ PCs, and specifically only for devices with Snapdragon (Arm-based) chips.

So, first up in this category is the integration of Reading Coach with Click to Do. To recap on those pieces of functionality, Click to Do provides context-sensitive actions which are AI-powered – this was brought in as the partner feature to Recall on Copilot+ PCs – and Reading Coach became available for free at the start of 2024.

The latter is an app you can download from the Microsoft Store in order to practice your reading skills and pronunciation, and Reading Coach can now be chosen direct from the Click to Do context menu, so you can work on any selected piece of text. (You’ll need the coaching app installed to do this, of course).

Also new for Click to Do (and Copilot+ PCs) is a ‘Read with Immersive Reader’ ability which is a focused reading mode designed for those with dyslexia and dysgraphia.

This allows users to adjust the text size and spacing, font, and background theme to best suit their needs, as well as having a picture dictionary option that Microsoft notes “provides visual representations of unfamiliar words for instant understanding.” You can also elect to have text read aloud and split into syllables if required.

Another neat feature for Copilot+ PCs – albeit only in the European Economic Area to begin with – is the ability to find photos saved in the cloud (OneDrive) via the search box in the Windows 11 taskbar. Again, this is AI-powered, so you can use natural language search to find images in OneDrive (such as photos of “Halloween costumes” for example). Both local (on the device) and cloud-based photos will be displayed in the taskbar search results.

All of the above are now rolling out in testing to Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, but devices with AMD and Intel CPUs will also be covered eventually.

A further noteworthy introduction here – for all PCs this time – is that Voice Access now grants you the power to add your own words to its dictionary. So, if there’s a word that the system is having difficulty picking up when you say it, you can add a custom dictionary entry and hopefully the next time you use it during dictation, Voice Access will correctly recognize the word.

There are a bunch of other tweaks and refinements in this new preview version, all of which are covered in Microsoft’s blog post on the new Beta build.

(Image credit: Microsoft) Analysis: Sterling progress

It’s good to see Microsoft’s continued efforts to improve Windows 11 in terms of accessibility and learning, even if some of the core introductions here won’t be piped through to most folks – as they won’t have a Copilot+ PC. What’s also clear is that Microsoft is clearly giving devices with Snapdragon processors priority on an ongoing basis, and that’s fine, as long as the same powers come to all Copilot+ PCs eventually (which they are doing thus far, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t).

The Voice Access addition is a very handy one, although I’m surprised it took Microsoft this long to implement it. I was previously a heavy user of Nuance (Dragon) speech recognition tool (my RSI has long since been cured, thanks in part to taking a break from typing by using this software) and it offered this functionality. As Windows 11’s Voice Access is essentially built on the same tech – Microsoft bought Nuance back in 2021 – it’s taken a while to incorporate what I felt was an important feature.

As ever, though, better late than never, and I certainly can’t complain about Voice Access being free, or at least free in terms of being bundled in with Windows 11.

You may also like...

• Here's why you should reinstall Windows 11 every two months - no, I'm not kidding
• Windows 11 is getting a very handy change to the taskbar, as Microsoft takes a leaf from Apple’s Mac playbook
• Windows 11 fully streamlined in just two clicks? Talon utility promises to rip all the bloatware out of Microsoft’s OS in a hassle-free way

• Bad equipment is more responsible than chaotic conversations for misunderstandings
• One in four say they spend extra time clarifying their points on video calls
• AI might have a role, but we need the foundation of clear video and audio

Danish video conferencing equipment company Jabra has blamed bad microphones and webcams on poor interactions, leading to reduced productivity, particularly among hybrid workers who rely on the tech.

According to the company’s research, one in four workers regularly feel misunderstood due to insufficient communication tools, which is impacting productivity, wellbeing and career prospects.

More than one-third (35%) of UK knowledge workers agree that poor audio or video quality is to blame when it comes to misunderstanding, ranking it even more highly than chaotic conversations with multiple people speaking over each other.

Poor video and audio quality is bad for productivity

Jabra EMEA North VP and MD Nigel Dunn explained why bad mics and webcams can be bad for productivity: “Too many UK workers are still being held back by poor-quality audio and video – spending valuable time clarifying conversations, second-guessing what was said, or worse, missing key details altogether.”

Even though the speaker might not be battling with the result of poor audio or video themselves, 24% agree that they spend extra time clarifying their point, which takes additional time.

More than one-fifth (22%) also feel embarrassed or lose confidence after being misunderstood, with 14% believing that being misunderstood could cause them to miss out on professional opportunities.

Many workers agree that AI’s transcription abilities can be extremely beneficial post-meeting, but despite this recognition there remains some reluctance, with most British workers trusting humans over AI.

“We need to start with the basics and enable employees to communicate clearly with total confidence that they can be heard accurately, whether speaking to a colleague, a virtual assistant or relying on transcription tools,” Dunn continued.

Although many tech giants have implemented now-standard three-day working weeks from the office, and some are taking it even further by implementing full-time office working mandates, hybrid and remote work continues to be far more prevalent than it was prior to the pandemic. Having effective communication platforms and systems in place is now a must.

You might also like

• We’ve listed the best business webcams
• These are the best business laptops rated for great productivity
• British businesses are getting used to AI at work - but there are still plenty of hurdles to overcome

Lawmakers are asking the Defense Secretary to explain how the Pentagon is complying with court rulings blocking President Trump's executive order attempting to ban transgender troops from service.

(Image credit: Win McNamee)

Experts are divided whether a new missile defense system for the U.S., inspired by Israel's Iron Dome, would be worth the cost.

(Image credit: Mark Wright/AP)

Didion's book is an intimate chronicle of the author's struggle to help her daughter, even if it meant digging into her own long-unexamined neuroses.

• A leaker claims the iPhone 17 Pro could be sold in a Sky Blue shade
• However, alternative colors are also apparently being considered
• This source has put forward various possible iPhone 17 Pro colors over the last few months, but it sounds like we'll only see one of these, if any

While we have a good idea of many of the likely iPhone 17 Pro specs, we’re a lot less sure of what colors it and the iPhone 17 Pro Max will be sold in. However, one new color candidate has now emerged, with Sky Blue apparently being considered by Apple.

This is according to leaker Majin Bu (via Apple Insider), who claims that, according to “sources close to the supply chain,” various colors are under consideration, but Sky Blue is apparently the frontrunner.

Of course, you’ll be able to buy these phones in more than one color, but Apple only switched out one shade when moving from the iPhone 15 Pro to the iPhone 16 Pro, so it’s possible that the same will happen again for the iPhone 17 Pro.

In which case, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max might be available in most of the following shades: Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, and Desert Titanium, with one of them swapped out for a new color – which could perhaps be Sky Blue.

A MacBook Air M4 in Sky Blue (Image credit: Apple)

You can see how this Sky Blue shade might look already, as you can get the MacBook Air (2025) in the same color – it’s a pale, understated blue that looks smart enough to fit with Apple’s typical Pro color schemes.

Lots of color claims

All that said, we’d still take this latest claim with a pinch of salt, as while Bu has been right before, they have a mixed track record.

This also isn’t the first time they’ve talked about possible iPhone 17 Pro colors. Back in September, they claimed we might see either a Titanium Blue, Titanium Purple, or Titanium Green shade. Then, in October, they said Apple was choosing between Teal Titanium, Green Titanium, and Dark Green Titanium. Now, it’s apparently Sky Blue that we’ll most likely see.

There is some overlap in these leaks – after all, Titanium Blue and Sky Blue could be one and the same. But with all these possibilities put forward, it’s hard to take any of them too seriously – at least until another source corroborates one of these leaks.

You might also like

• New iPhone 17 Pro render ditches the two-tone design for a possibly more accurate appearance
• Fresh iPhone 17 dummy unit leak may show camera bumps and MagSafe connectors for all four models
• Start saving – foldable iPhone price rumor suggests it could cost more than a MacBook Pro

• The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion remaster will be officially revealed later today
• Bethesda confirmed a broadcast that will announce the game
• It's suspected that Bethesda will also shadow drop the Oblivion remaster following the livestream

After a series of leaks and rumors, The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion remaster will be officially revealed later today.

Bethesda shared a post on social media last night confirming that it will broadcast some sort of Oblivion announcement today, April 22, at 11AM ET / 8AM PT / 4PM BST on Twitch and YouTube.

The remaster was leaked last week, so it's not difficult to predict what the announcement will be, however, it's possible that the livestream will also be followed up with a surprise shadow drop.

New details later emerged that claimed that the game would launch on April 21, 2025, but considering the deluge of leaks, it's speculated that Bethesda pushed the announcement and shadow drop back by one day.

Tomorrow, 11:00 am EST. https://t.co/CKo7HKjs7j and https://t.co/dgz4EnloQ0 pic.twitter.com/K36jZmFUO9April 21, 2025

Alongside an official launch date, we'll also likely receive an official gameplay trailer showcasing the remastered graphics that were leaked through a selection of screenshots, as well as its updated game mechanics.

It's also claimed that the game will launch on PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, and Xbox Game Pass. Although the Nintendo Switch 2 was just announced and confirmed to support third-party titles, it's unclear if we'll see the Oblivion remaster make its way to the handheld after it releases.

You might also like...

• Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders live: latest UK stock updates as My Nintendo Store's pre-order date arrives, while US pre-orders remain delayed
• Thankfully Mario Kart World will have some open-world challenges in Free Roam mode
• Xbox boss Phil Spencer confirms Microsoft will support the Nintendo Switch 2: 'I’m really a big believer in what Nintendo means for this industry and us continuing to support them'

• The Joy-Con 2 could have shipped without release buttons
• This comes from an interview with Switch 2's hardware leads
• The original removal method could have been as primitive as simply pulling them away

The Nintendo Switch 2 hardware leads have confirmed that the console's magnetic Joy-Con 2 controllers may have at one point have shipped without release buttons.

In an interview with Mobile Syrup, Nintendo Switch 2 producer Kouichi Kawamoto shared that the Joy-Con 2 - now connecting to the handheld display magnetically as in place of the original's rail system - suggested that the original release method was a little more primitive than what we have now.

"Originally, we didn’t have the button that would release the magnet. And so you had to pull," said Kawamoto. "And then we discussed, 'Well, wouldn’t the kids pull it apart?' So my first request was, 'Please use a strong magnet.' And the second was, 'Okay, if you want to be able to pull it, please make sure you can pull it.'

Kawamoto also stated that the hardware team "had several ideas" for how the magnetic Joy-Con 2 could be disconnected, but that "the technology wasn’t quite available" for some of these ideas.

In the end, the solution is a simple but effective one. Both left and right Joy-Con 2 controllers have a release button nestled next to the triggers. As I discovered during my Nintendo Switch 2 hands-on session, it's as simple as holding these buttons in to safely disconnect them from the handheld unit.

In other news, Nintendo has finally confirmed pre-order dates for the Switch 2 in the US. Shoppers in the region will have a chance to put their console pre-orders down from April 24. The console and its games will have their prices remain the same, but you should expect accessories like the Joy-Con 2 and the Switch 2 camera to have some slight price increases.

You might also like...

• Nintendo quietly removes mentions of VRR support from its US and Canada Switch 2 websites
• Thankfully Mario Kart World will have some open-world challenges in Free Roam mode
• I think the Joy-Con 2 mouse controls are the Nintendo Switch 2’s most exciting feature - here’s why

• GameStop and Walmart have raised the prices of upcoming amiibo by $10
• They now cost up to almost $40 per figure
• It follows an announcement from Nintendo that some Switch 2 accessory prices could change

In some bad news for all the lovers of Nintendo's line of collectible figures out there, it looks like upcoming amiibo will more expensive than first anticipated.

Late last week the company announced that Nintendo Switch 2 accessories would "experience price adjustment", with retail prices increasing across the board in the US. The Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller, for example, went up to $84.99 from $79.99, while a pair of Joy-Con 2 controllers now costs an eye-watering $94.99 - up from $89.99.

The Nintendo Switch 2 dock and camera were also hit, rising from $109.99 to $119.99 and from $49.99 to $54.99 respectively. Notably, the prices of upcoming amiibo figures were not mentioned in the announcement, though now it seems clear that they will also be affected.

GameStop was the first retailer to increase amiibo prices, raising the cost of the upcoming The Legend of Zelda series from $19.99 to $29.99 each. The Street Fighter 6 series was also hit, going up from $29.99 to $39.99.

This week, Walmart followed suit - increasing the asking price of both The Legend of Zelda and Street Fighter 6 series amiibo by $10. This would indicate that the amiibo price rises are not an isolated incident and that we might see $29.99 and $39.99 becoming the standard price point for future figures.

I'm very much hoping that this isn't the case, as almost $40 for a single collectible is very steep. You can easily find many of the best Nintendo Switch games for that price and, as much as I like some Street Fighter characters, I definitely know what I would rather have.

Just bear in mind that we don't know whether this is an official change in MSRP quite yet and Nintendo did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this matter.

Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders were delayed indefinitely in the US on April 4, 2025. In a statement given to TechRadar Gaming, Nintendo cited "the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions".

The console is is set to launch worldwide on June 5, 2025. It will cost $449.99 / £395.99 or $499.99 / £429.99 for a bundle that includes a digital copy of Mario Kart World.

You might also like...

• I spent four hours with Nintendo Switch 2, and it hasn't just exceeded my expectations – it's blown them away
• The Nintendo Switch 2's game prices may single-handedly ruin gaming, and we need to stop it before it's too late
• Going hands-on with the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller feels like a fantastic upgrade, but I have just one small concern

Faithful from around the world are pouring into the Vatican, where Pope Francis' body will go on display Wednesday, ahead of a funeral Saturday.

(Image credit: Francisco Seco)

• One UI 7 is now appearing on phones from 2023
• The Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S24 FE are included
• South Korea is the first country to see the update

The rollout of One UI 7, which is Samsung's take on Android 15, has been a rather tortuous one so far – but it appears there is some light at the end of the software update tunnel, with both the Samsung Galaxy S23 and the Galaxy S24 FE now receiving their upgrades.

News of the updates are popping up in various places, with SamMobile spotting that Galaxy S23 devices are now receiving the software, and well-known tipster @tarunvats33 reporting on the arrival of One UI 7 for the Galaxy S24 FE.

There is a caveat here, which is that the rollout has only been seen in Samsung's home country of South Korea so far. However, it shouldn't be too long before these same devices get One UI 7 across the rest of the world.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 launched in 2023, which suggests the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 – the flagship foldables from that year – should also be getting One UI 7 in the near future.

The story so far

Breaking!!Galaxy S24 FE receives One UI 7 update in Korea.Build Version: S721NKSU2BYD9/S721NOKR2BYD9/S721NKSU2BYD9 pic.twitter.com/uTVOi0CSAAApril 22, 2025

We got our first proper look at One UI 7 when it appeared on the Samsung Galaxy S25 handsets that were launched in January. Though it was missing some small finishing touches, the software development was virtually completed in time for those devices.

The One UI 7 upgrade has taken a while to reach older Samsung phones though. The release date for the Galaxy S24, Galaxy Z Fold 6, and Galaxy Z Flip 7 handsets was originally set for April 7, but even then it didn't all go smoothly.

Within the first few days, there were reports of a bug that had halted the rollout of the software, though there wasn't much in the way of clarity around what had happened – or when One UI 7 might continue to be pushed out to devices.

Since then, the 2024 Samsung handsets have apparently started getting the update again, and now the 2023 phones are following on. If you're just getting the software, you don't have long to explore its features, because One UI 8 is already on the way.

You might also like

• The Galaxy S25 gets a 'final' One UI 7 update
• 5 new features to try in One UI 7
• Owners of older Samsung phones are still waiting

• Google has just released a software update for the Pixel Watch
• It fixes an issue with over-inflated step counts
• It's also an important upgrade for people on last year's releases

Google has just released a second April 2025 Google Pixel Watch software update, which includes a vital step count algorithm fix to correct previously over-inflated step counts.

Google announced the update on its support site. It says it has started rolling out and will be pushed to devices in phases over the next few weeks. As always, when you get the update depends on your carrier and device, but you should get a notification to tell you when the download is ready.

Since the March and first April software updates, Google says that some users have reported receiving step counts that were higher than expected. Google changed the step count algorithm in March, but has since reverted to the original algorithm for all users.

Pixel Watch's second April update

Google also confirms that the update is far more significant for anyone on last year's Pixel Watch software. Wear OS 5.1 brings users in the US the Loss of Pulse Detection feature, which can alert emergency services and bystanders if your heart stops beating. However, you'll need the best Android smartwatch, the Google Pixel Watch 3, to take advantage of this feature.

If you're still on the November release, other upgrades include new Menstrual Health support, Media Controls upgrades, and an expansion of Auto Bed-Time Mode on the Pixel Watch 2. The step count upgrade is of course, absent.

Sadly, this isn't the Pixel Watch Gemini upgrade we've been waiting for. While that did show up briefly on devices in recent weeks, Google may be reserving the AI rollout to its wearables line for the unveiling of the Pixel Watch 4, which we can probably expect later this year.

Gemini will replace Google Assistant as an AI-powered on-wrist assistant. While that's good news for Pixel Watch fans, Fitbit owners will be left out in the cold, with Google confirming it will end Google Assistant support on Fitbit with no Gemini replacement in sight, a change that has already started to take effect.

You may also like

• Leaked renders may have given us our first proper look at the Google Pixel Watch 4
• Download Google's latest Pixel Watch update now to solve notification lag and crashing issues
• Google Pixel Watch can now alert you to scam calls in real time

• The Nintendo Switch 2 Editions of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom seemingly won't support cloud saves
• The US and EU store pages for both games state that the software "does not support the Nintendo Switch Online paid membership's Save Data Cloud backup feature"
• Players can still import their original Switch data, but the disclaimer for both Zelda games means players can't create a new cloud save file on the Switch 2

It seems that the Nintendo Switch 2 Editions of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom won't support Switch Online's cloud save backup feature.

As reported by Eurogamer, both the US and EU store pages for the Switch 2 games offer a disclaimer that reads, "Please note: this software does not support the Nintendo Switch Online paid membership's Save Data Cloud backup feature."

This is significant because, as one Resetera user pointed out, Nintendo has already said that players can import their original Switch save data to the Switch 2 Editions, but if these disclaimers are true, it could mean that players can't create a new cloud save file on the Switch 2 for these games.

It also means if players start a new playthrough on the Switch 2, they can't create a file to backup their save.

Although the US and EU store pages both feature this disclaimer, the Japanese website states otherwise.

"To use the save data storage service, you must subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online (paid membership)," the page reads (via Google Translate).

Notably, games like Super Mario Party Jamboree, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and Metroid Prime 4 don't offer the same disclaimer, which makes me wonder why both Zelda games do. Nintendo has yet to officially comment on the decision.

This new development comes after Nintendo confirmed, after some confusion, that Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games, like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, will contain the full game and upgrades on the cartridge.

However, there is still some uncertainty as to whether players will need to re-purchase Breath of the Wild's downloadable content (DLC)

The Nintendo Switch 2 launches on June 5, 2025, for $449.99 / £395.99 or $499.99 / £429.99 for a Mario Kart World bundle.

Pre-orders are now live in the UK, but US pre-orders and Canadian pre-orders have been delayed as Nintendo assesses the potential impact of tariffs.

You might also like...

• Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders live: latest UK stock updates as My Nintendo Store's pre-order date arrives, while US pre-orders remain delayed
• Consoles in the US could be hit with a 145% tariff, which means the Nintendo Switch 2 might get even pricier
• Xbox boss Phil Spencer confirms Microsoft will support the Nintendo Switch 2: 'I’m really a big believer in what Nintendo means for this industry and us continuing to support them'